The chairperson of the Kenya Film Classification Board
Ezekiel Mutua has condemned Sauti Sol’s new hit song, Melanin, featuring
Nigeria’s Patoranking terming it as “absolute pornography”.
The self-proclaimed moral police described the video as
“scatological, intellectual incapacitation and a tragedy of monumental
proportions” as he threatened to seek a court injunction to bar the song from
airing.
Speaking to The Evening Post, he expressed his
deep disappointment with the band lamenting that they are “a gifted band that
is running out of ideas and it’s a tragedy”.
“I have watched the video, the scenes are inappropriate and
it’s full of nudity, obscenity and it should be saved for watershed period,” he
said. “Sauti Sol is taking the wrong direction, defying the norms and
expectations of the society, they don’t know that they can still be famous
without being obscene,” he said.
He added that he will forward the song to experts in the
board to classify it even though Sauti Sol are yet to submit it for
classification.
“The elements that we look at are the frequency, intensity,
nudity and obscenity and Sauti sol’s is adult rated,” he said.
Mutua further criticised the band highlighting that they
were also banned for their Nishike hitsong that attracted alot of
criticism from the moral police.
“Nishike was also condemned, Kenya is not a religious
state but over 80% of Kenyans are conservatives, you cannot watch with your
mother or your daughter that song, it is not suitable for family viewing” he
said.
Mutua said the band can do romance without being immoral and
the video was just a way of sustaining fame and gaining controversy.
The band launched the song on Tuesday and early reviews were
all in praise of the song for a beautiful portrayal of black women. It had
garnered an impressive 48,000 views just a few hours after release.
